5 Tips To Effectively Manage A Remote Team On A Daily Basis
A Global Workplace Analytics survey showed that at least 50% of the global workforce works in some sort of telecommuting role. Further, 80–90% of the respondents said that they would like to work remotely, at least for a few days in the week.
On the other hand, with the competition for finding the right workforce at an all-time high, more and more companies are now looking at building remote teams in different countries. Without the restrictions of hiring only from the local talent pool, companies can leverage foreign talent, and significantly reduce operational costs at the same time. However, there are still companies in the West who are skeptical about working with remote offshore teams or even remote teams in general for one primary reason. They just don’t know how to make it work.
Will it hamper productivity? What if the project fails? Is it efficient to build a remote team? These are some of the many questions that are contemplated over. This blog post is the answer to all those questions. In this post, we highlight five tips, which, when implemented, will ensure maximum collaboration and productivity with your remote team.
1. Be intentional
Your local team is the team that you see every day. You either pass them by in the halls, eat lunch with them, or hang out together at the local restaurant after office. They’re the people that are always around you and can easily reach out to you when they need to. On the other hand, imagine you build a remote team in a country like India — hundreds and thousands of miles away from you. Your remote employees cannot stop by at your desk or meet you every day. And that’s where being intentional can work wonders.
What does it mean to be intentional?
Simply put, this means to take extra efforts to make your remote team feel like they belong to your organization — that they’re not unlike your local team.
When an employee, remote or otherwise, feels appreciated or recognized, their productivity automatically increases. Simple things like responding to them as quickly as possible, creating virtual spaces for socializing, or always remembering and celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries may seem insignificant, but can be extremely gratifying. Make each team meeting as an intentional opportunity to engage with your remote team, and find new ways to contribute towards a healthy collaboration.
2. Create a communication strategy
Gone are the days when geographical distance affected how teams communicate with each other. Today, given the plethora of technological advancements in the world of communication, initiating contact with someone across the globe barely takes a few seconds.
Studies have suggested that between 60–90% of all communication can be nonverbal — basically, it’s easier to get on the wrong page when working with remote teams who aren’t physically present to understand the tone of your voice. This makes it all the more important to build a robust communication strategy. Here are some strategies that you can implement:
- Make it a point to engage with your remote team at least once a day. It doesn’t always have to be work-related.
- Use multiple channels to communicate. Instant messaging channels like Slack work wonderfully for quick messages and updates. On the other hand, video-conferencing tools like Skype can be used for presentations, brainstorming sessions, and review meetings. Choose your channels wisely.
- Schedule weekly, or bi-monthly calls with your team. Take this time to discuss the workflows, any blockers, and the highlights of the project so far. This constant interaction and engagement will help remote workers feel included.
3. Use cloud-based project management tools
If remote employees cannot find an important document, struggle to download files because there’s no system in place, or forget when an important task is due, you’ve failed to address the basics — implementing task-tracking and project management tools. Some famous project management systems include Wrike, Trello, Basecamp, Zoho Projects, and Clarizen.
Since you can’t physically see what your remote team is working on, a cloud-based project management system is an absolute necessity. By using a cloud project management system, you can plan, collaborate, and monitor the different stages of a particular project using a network of tools. Task management Kanban boards, a customizable dashboard, fully-integrated file storage, and a variety of task-tracking tools are some of the features of a traditional cloud project-management system.
Another major advantage of having a project management system in place is that you no longer have to worry about organizing work. You don’t need sticky notes or leather-bound planners — everything will always be backed up on the cloud for your easy access. Every week, during the weekly review meeting, all you have to do is review the tasks and progress of your remote team, and you’re good to go. It really is that simple!
4. Practice transparency
When working with remote employees, it’s easy to keep them away from the big picture. Sitting in a different country, they may not always know what’s happening at the local office and vice versa. However, employees often look to their managers and leaders as an example of how to behave in a work setting. If you are open and honest, there is no reason why they aren’t going to do the same.
By practicing transparency at every stage and implementing it as a part of your team culture, you not only gain the trust of your remote employees but also ensure that they aren’t hesitant to come to you with any questions or concerns. This practice also goes a long way in retaining your remote employees in the long-term.
For example, if you have news to share, make sure you let every team member know at the same time — not just the members of your local team. This way, your remote team won’t feel like they’re the last to hear about what’s happening in the office, or that you’re intentionally withholding information from them.
And last, but certainly not the least,
5. Visit your remote team
You can’t expect your remote teams to feel connected to your company if you can’t make that happen through action.
Visiting your remote team — even just once a year can build real cohesion within your team. During your visit, you can conduct short one-on-one meetings to review each individual’s goals and analyze their performance. You can even organize a work vacation, where your local and remote teams together, visit a new city or country. This time can be used as an opportunity for the teams to connect on a personal level. Team-building activities, socials, brainstorming, board-games — whatever works best for your team!
For instance, this picture was taken when the stakeholders of Preqin, one of our clients, visited and bonded with their remote software development team in Bangalore!
If you’re still uncertain about how building a remote team really works, you can download our free ebook, which acts as a guide to all things offshoring. It’s a simple, easy-to-understand guide full of invaluable information!
Source: https://thescalers.com/5-tips-to-effectively-manage-a-remote-team/
